Category: Travel

I’m often asked if I still document my children “as they are” anymore. And I have to say in all honesty – yes, however – not as often as I would like. Its not to say that I don’t want to. I just get distracted with work, life and well living. As a photographer I often find I am like a plumber with bad plumbing.

A few years ago whilst traveling I took lots of photographs of the family. Like the one above. This is Penny holding a sword that we had picked out for a shoot of the girls in an English garden – Robin Hood style.

The girls had dreamed up the shoot when they found a stick with a feather in it, all carved into the shape of an arrow. It was obvious another child had stayed in the same house, which by the way use to be the holiday house of the Queen (apparently). A gorgeous English estate in West Sussex with the most extraordinary gardens.

The girls loved the gardens. So the Robin Hood shoot was dreamed up and off we went to shop for it. A few bits of leather, old skirts and of course a sword. The one Penny is holding in the above pic.

And below are the results (which I posted a year ago). Which photograph are more real?

My answer is truly both because I just love to explore and expand on the imagination of children – whilst also documenting what they are doing with their “right now” imaginations.

To me neither is less real. Just two different styles I guess. xoxo

PS this post makes me want to go through all the family pics for overseas and share some. If only I had more time!

If you’d like to take part in a workshop – and photograph at a JinkyArt shoot, we have seats left in the New Zealand workshop & the Canberra Workshop in our Home Studio near Canberra. Details are at http://www.jinkyart.com.au/store.

About a month ago I posted one of the photographs from this session however, I have finally completed it. I thought I would share more then normal since its been awhile since I have blogged. I have to say, Perth is fabulous for sunsets! Taken back in May.

At a recent workshop, an attendee asked me if I follow other photographers and who my inspirations are.

My inspirations are many. In fact, if I were to follow those who inspire me, I would spend all day on the computer doing, not much!

I tend not to.

I stay in the dark a little in regards to the photographic industry and who’s doing what. I don’t like competition – entering them, or comparing myself and in fact find that to be awfully demotivating.

My list of amazing photographers…..like I said, would be ENDLESS. But I guess to me its like looking at a Pinterest board full of crafty children’s activities, and those gorgeous pinterest birthday cakes. I think, “Oh dear, my children really didn’t get the crafty super mum.”

What I do love is happily stumbling across someone who inspires me outside the photographic industry. Usually illustrators or artists and maybe even musicians. Music and photography go hand in hand if you think about it.

One of my goals this year was to do some work that is unexpected.

And what I have found is that my style seems to come through no matter how unexpected I feel something may be. I just am, who I am.

So my unexpected goal turned into, less digital artistry, to getting that perfect feel out of camera as much as I can. Thats what inspires me. To conceptualize the unexpected in a way that captures the dreamscape perfectly, in camera.